Archive for the ‘catholic’ Category

Blogging will be kinda light today as I will be at St. Anthony di Padua Church in Fitchburg working on today’s Madonna della Cava mass and procession and the party etc afterwords.

The procession with the Band, Banners, et/al will start at 10, followed by mass, free food and music and closing with a Rosary in Italian. We had 300 people last year (I was on a cruse so I missed it) and expect a larger crowd in the 2nd year of the revival of the tradition that ran from the 20’s to the 60’s at the parish.

Not only is this a fine devotion but thanks to Rahm Emanual maybe I can save a few grand in property taxes if I get more involved. Robert Stacy McCain found the story at the American Freedom blog. Barbara there explains:

The Cook County Assessor’s and Cook County Treasurer’s online records indicate Emanuel’s Chicago neighbors pay between $3,500 and $7,000 annually. However, Illinois Review has
been unable to locate any evidence that the former Clinton advisor and investment banker is paying his fair share of Cook County’s notoriously high tax burden.

Why wouldn’t 4228 North Hermitage property owners Rahm Emanuel and wife A my Rule pay property taxes?
One reason may be because Emanuel and Rule declared their 4228 North Hermitage home as the office location for their personal non-profit foundation called the “Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule Charitable Foundation”. As the non-profit’s headquarters, their home could be exempt from paying property taxes.

So all I need to do is incorporate the society with my house as a headquarters and presto my $2,000+ in property taxes annually will disappear, but as Barbara further explains I’m thinking small…

What a racket! Take all your income and donate it back to yourself via tax exempt orgs where you can spend it on as expenses to operate your car, pay the electric and water bills, etc.

I get the feeling the Madonna might not take kindly to this whole idea so tempting as it is I’m going to have to give it a miss, however the story establishes why so many White House people were tax dodgers. Rahm didn’t want them paying taxes that he wasn’t paying himself.

Madonna Della Cava procession Sunday

Posted: August 15, 2009 by datechguy in catholic, personal
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My Church St. Anthony Di Padua in Fitchburg Mass will be holding its now revived Madonna Della Cava procession with the banner, a band, statue, etc, this Sunday August 16, 2009.

The Procession will start at the school with the Band and statue Banner and will be followed by mass at 10:30 and Italian Food and assorted pastries served at no charge in the Church Hall. Music will be from the Leominister Colonial Band.

A Rosary in Italian will be said to close the festivities.

We aren’t as big as the Boston stuff but we are growing.

Oh and BTW let me give a shout out to Kevin Caravella. Since he took over the parish web site it is really something. It’s 10 times better than anything I did with it. Well done!

Cripes we even have a blog now.

What Miracles? Oh that Miracle

Posted: August 10, 2009 by datechguy in catholic
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Via the Curt Jester a great reminder of what is called willing suspension of disbelief:

“All the cloths similar to the Tilma that have been placed in the salty and humid environment around the Basilica have lasted no more than ten years,” he explained. One painting of the miraculous image, created in 1789, was on display in a church near the basilica where the Tilma was placed. “This painting was made with the best techniques of its time, the copy was beautiful and made with a fabric very similar to that of the Tilma. Also, the image was protected with a glass since it was first placed there.”

However, eight years later, the copy of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was thrown away because the colors were fading and threads were breaking. In contrast, Orozco said, “the original Tilma was exposed for approximately 116 years without any kind of protection, receiving all the infrared and ultraviolet radiation from the tens of thousands of candles near it and exposed to the humid and salty air around the temple.”

He also notes one other issue;

The second miracle was the explosion of a bomb near the Tilma in 1921. Dr. Orozco recalled that the explosion broke the marble floor and widows 150 meters from the explosion, but “unexpectedly, neither the Tilma nor the normal glass that protected the Tilma was damaged or broken.” The only damage near it was a brass crucifix that was twisted by the blast.

He continued, “There are no explanations why the shockwave that broke windows 150 meters afar did not destroy the normal glass that protected the image. Some people said that the Son by means of the brass crucifix protected the image of His Mother. The real fact is that we don’t have a natural explanation for this event.”

Of course we all know how well things are preserved in the heat of Mexico for hundreds of years before air conditioning etc.

The denial of this stuff is the real leap of faith.

A real Catholic Pol

Posted: August 5, 2009 by datechguy in catholic, opinion/news
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You know that in a district where there hasn’t been a republican congressman since 1890 and is 64% black it might be politically necessary for a newly elected republican to support the president on some key issues. Even if Abortion is paid for in it..

But Don Surber reports that when congressman Anh Cao says he is a Catholic, unlike say a John Kerry or a Nancy Pelosi he means it:

“Being a Jesuit, I very much adhere to the notion of social justice, ” Cao said. “I do fully understand the need of providing everyone with access to health care, but to me personally, I cannot be privy to a law that will allow the potential of destroying thousands of innocent lives.

“I know that voting against the health care bill will probably be the death of my political career, ” Cao said, “but I have to live with myself, and I always reflect on the phrase of the New Testament, ‘How does it profit a man’s life to gain the world but to lose his soul.’ “

This is what a true Catholic Looks like.